Heavy metals are released during the combustion process of many fossil fuels and/or waste materials. These heavy metals include, for example, arsenic, beryllium, lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, zinc, mercury, and barium. Most of these heavy metals are toxic to humans and animals. In particular, elemental mercury and mercury compounds such as mercury chlorides are thought to compromise the health and mental acuity of young children and fetuses.
Furthermore, there is every indication that the amount of mercury, and possibly of other heavy metals, now legally allowed to be released by those combusting various fossil fuels and/or waste materials, including coal burning powerplants and petroleum refineries, will be reduced by future legislation. While a variety of adsorbents are available for capture of heavy metals (in particular mercury), these adsorbents tend to have low capacities and are easily deactivated by other components in the gas stream, such as sulfur oxides. Thus, there exists a need for a material that removes elemental mercury from gas streams and has a high capacity for retaining mercury as a nonvolatile compound.